Grilled Appetizer Recipes That Turn Any Gathering Into a Party

Don't just grill your main courses! Preparing appetizers on the grill helps keep the party outside and simplifies cleanup. Our recipe collection of starters includes grilled shrimp, bruschetta, pancetta-wrapped asparagus, sausages, and more.

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One of the many reasons we love grilling is it gives us the chance to both cook and eat outside. You can take this outdoor frame of mind one step further by ditching cooking kitchen altogether for your next gathering. Sometimes we like to begin a cookout with make-ahead appetizers, like a favorite dip or a decadent cheese board, but we also think there's something special about grilling our starters instead.

As it turns out, there are so many different appetizers that lend themselves to grilling. Skewers are an obvious—and delicious—option, and we're not just talking about meat or chicken; you can also use skewers to corral smaller foods that might slip between the grates, like fava beans, Grilled Peas with Coconut, or meat-and-vegetable combos such as padron peppers and chorizo. A shrimp appetizer is always a crowd pleaser, but a grilled shrimp appetizer is even better. Our Spicy Grilled Shrimp skewers get an infusion of Thai-inspired flavor thanks to a marinade and dipping sauce made with chili paste and fish sauce.

Grilling elevates the simplest foods: Sure you could toast the bread for bruschetta, but this dish tastes (and looks) so much better after a pass on the grill. The same is true for corn, sausage. What doesn't benefit from the smoke and char of the grill?

There are also foods you might not think to grill but once you taste how good they are grilled, you'll be sold. Yes, we're talking about grilling cheese—not a grilled cheese sandwich, but rather a whole wheel of cheese. Let's just say it beats baked brie any day. Now it's time to take the party outside with the rest of our grilled appetizer recipes

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Grilled Bread and Chiles with Burrata

Elizabeth Cecil

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Grilled Appetizer Recipes That Turn Any Gathering Into a Party

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Grilled Bread and Chiles with Burrata

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Grilled-Vegetable Agrodolce

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Grilled Tomato Bruschetta

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Grilled Fava Beans

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Grilled Clams

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Padron Peppers Skewered with Chorizo

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Grilled Shrimp and Bacon with Lemons

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Grilled Corn Disks

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Grilled Italian Sausages and Tomatoes on Focaccia

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Chicken Satay with Peanut-Chutney Sauce

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Kielbasa Bites with Grainy-Mustard Potato Salad

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Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro, Lime, and Peanuts

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Grilled Scallops Wrapped in Prosciutto

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Asparagus Wrapped in Pancetta with Citronette

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Tequila-Grilled Shrimp

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